Medical electrical leads commonly include elongate bodies through which one or more conductors extend; the conductors couple electrodes disposed in proximity to a first, or distal terminal end with corresponding connector contacts disposed at an opposite, or proximal terminal end. The proximal, or connector ends of leads are adapted to couple with medical devices such that the connector contacts make electrical connection with medical device contacts, the connection allowing the lead electrodes to sense electrical activity and/or provide electrical stimulation.
It is common practice, in some sectors of the medical device industry, for example the pacemaker industry, to standardize the connector terminal end of leads. Some standard connector types may be applicable for a variety of different lead bodies categorized according to a number of electrodes and corresponding conductors, for example, unipolar, bipolar, tripolar and quadripolar; and/or categorized according to a type of electrode, for example, single or integrated function and active or passive fixation. It would be desirable, from a manufacturing and quality perspective, to provide a modular connector assembly that may be coupled by common methods to any lead of the different categories of leads.